Iran is running two surveillance operations in cyber-space, targeting more than 1,000 dissidents, according to a leading cyber-security company. From a report: The efforts were directed against individuals in Iran and 12 other countries, including the UK and US, Check Point said. It said the two groups involved were using new techniques to install spyware on targets’ PCs and mobile devices….
Tag: spyware
NSO Used Real People’s Location Data To Pitch Its Contact-Tracing Tech, Researchers Say
Spyware maker NSO Group used real phone location data on thousands of unsuspecting people when it demonstrated its new COVID-19 contact-tracing system to governments and journalists, researchers have concluded. From a report: NSO, a private intelligence company best known for developing and selling governments access to its Pegasus spyware, went on the charm offensive earlier this year to pitch its contact-tracing…
Google Removes 17 Android Apps Caught Engaging In WAP Billing Fraud
Google has recently removed 17 Android applications from the official Play Store because they were infected with the Joker (aka Bread) malware. ZDNet reports: “This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services,” Zscaler security researcher Viral Gandhi said this week. The 17…
Iranian Hackers Found Way Into Encrypted Apps, Researchers Say
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems — a capability Iran was not previously known to possess, according to two digital security reports released Friday. The operation not only targets…
‘Stalkerware’ Phone Spying Apps Have Escaped Google’s Ad Ban
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Several companies offering phone-spying apps — known as “stalkerware” — are still advertising in Google search results, despite the search giant’s ban that took effect today, TechCrunch has found. These controversial apps are often pitched to help parents snoop on their child’s calls, messages, apps and other private data under the guise of…
Google Bans Stalkerware Ads
Google announced plans this week to ban ads that promote stalkerware, spyware, and other forms of surveillance technology that can be used to track other persons without their specific consent. From a report: The change was announced this week as part of an upcoming update to Google Ads policies, set to enter into effect next month, on August 11, 2020. Examples…
Microsoft is Force-Feeding Edge To Windows Users With a Spyware-like Install
Sean Hollister, writing for The Verge: If I told you that my entire computer screen just got taken over by a new app that I’d never installed or asked for — it just magically appeared on my desktop, my taskbar, and preempted my next website launch — you’d probably tell me to run a virus scanner and stay away from shady…
Journalist’s Phone Hacked: All He Had To Do Was Visit a Website. Any Website.
The iPhone that Moroccan journalist Omar Radi used to contact his sources also allowed his government to spy on him (and at least two other journalists), reports the Toronto Star, citing new research from Amnesty International. Slashdot reader Iwastheone shares their report: Their government could read every email, text and website visited; listen to every phone call and watch every video…
Apple ‘Suddenly Catches TikTok Secretly Spying On Millions Of iPhone Users’, Claims Forbes
In February, Reddit’s CEO called TikTok “fundamentally parasitic,” according to a report on TechCrunch, adding “it’s always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying, and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone… I actively tell people, ‘Don’t install that spyware on your phone.'” TikTok called his remarks “baseless accusations made without a…
WhatsApp: Israeli Firm ‘Deeply Involved’ In Hacking Our Users
WhatsApp has alleged in new court filings that an Israeli spyware company used US-based servers and was “deeply involved” in carrying out mobile phone hacks of 1,400 WhatsApp users, including senior government officials, journalists, and human rights activists. The Guardian reports: The new claims about NSO Group allege that the Israeli company bears responsibility in serious human rights violations, including the…